Streptococcus (S.) suis infections are the most common cause of meningitis in pigs. Moreover, S. suis is a zoonotic pathogen, which can lead to meningitis in humans, mainly in adults. We assume that glial cells may play a crucial role in host-pathogen interactions during S. suis infection of the central nervous system. Glial cells are considered to possess important functions during inflammatio...

Microglial cells within the developing central nervous system (CNS) originate from mesodermic precursors of hematopoietic lineage that enter the nervous parenchyma from the meninges, ventricular space and/or blood stream. Once in the nervous parenchyma, microglial cells increase in number and disperse throughout the CNS; these cells finally differentiate to become fully ramified microglial cell...

The novel morphological characteristics of N9 microglial cells and primary cultured rat microglial cells were examined using the bitotin-IB4 and streptavidin-FITC system. Numerous fine, long processes of both microglial cell preparations formed a network, beginning after 30 min in culture. Dye coupling studies did not show communication between neighbouring cells via the processes in normal con...

Traumatic brain injury is a serious global health problem with irreversible high morbidity and disability and Because of its unknown pathophysiological mechanisms, efficient therapeutic approaches to improve the poor outcome and long-term impairment of behavioral function are still remains lacking. The microglial cells are the resident macrophage cells of the brain and have M1/M2 phenotype, for...

The morphology and distribution of microglial cells were studied in the normal cerebellum of young and adult mice using the histochemical demonstration of nucleoside diphosphatase as a specific microglial marker. Our results showed that microglial cells were present in all cerebellular lobules of both young and adult mice, but their distribution and morphology were not homogeneous throughout th...

Objective(s): Neuropathic pain is a prevalent and debilitating neurological disorder. Ample evidence indicates that microglial cells and inflammatory cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain. Alpha-terpineol is a monoterpenoid alcohol with inhibitory effect on inflammatory cytokines. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of α-t...

Upon activation, brain microglial cells release proinflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide (NO), which may play an important role in the central nervous system antibacterial, antiviral, and antitumor activities. However, excessive release of NO has been postulated to elicit immune-mediated neurodegenerative inflammatory processes and to cause brain injury. In the present study, the effect ...

The K(+) channel expression pattern of microglia strongly depends on the cells' microenvironment and has been recognized as a sensitive marker of the cells' functional state. While numerous studies have been performed on microglia in vitro, our knowledge about microglial K(+) channels and their regulation in vivo is limited. Here, we have investigated K(+) currents of microglia in striatum, neo...

We used the QH1 antibody to study changes in the morphological features and distribution of microglial cells throughout development in the quail cerebellum. Few microglial precursors were present in the cerebellar anlage before the ninth incubation day (E9), whereas many precursors apparently entered the cerebellum from the meninges in the basal region of the cerebellar peduncles between E9 and...

Microglial cells in culture are distinct from neurons, macroglial cells, and macrophages of tissues other than brain with respect to their membrane current pattern. To assess these cells in the intact tissue, we have applied the patch-clamp technique to study membrane currents in microglial cells from acute, whole brain slices of 6-9-d-old mice in an area of microglial cell invasion, the cingul...